Marco Antonio Barrera - One of the great comebacks in modern boxing

Just out of interest, mate, when did you first see Barrera live? I'm not much older than you, if at all, and I really wish I had more interest in these guys before they were past their best. Instead of fannying around playing Pokeman, I could have been watching Barrera destroy livers :-(


...I now hate myself.

 

As a morales fan, i could never get into MAB as a fan.

 

He's cool....

 

Must be the same morons who insisted Barrera was past his prime when he lost to Pac.

 

Just couldn't resist.

 

I used to play pokemon too, but my family would watch all the Morales, and Barrera fights since 2000... I watched some Morales and Barrera PPV's, too bad i didn't care much and only watched a few rounds(parts of those) atsch

 

Barrera was Prime from 2000 to 03 IMO

 

He was still prime even after Pac beat him in 2003.

Look at how he fought Morales, Ayala, Peden, etc.

Pac was just a better fighter than Barrera, prime vs prime. Simple as that.

However here in ESB, there is no way a great fighter loses during his prime atsch. When a great fighter loses, it could only be because that fighter is past his prime.

 

I accidentally stumbled upon a re-run of his fight with Manny Pacquiao on Eurosport. I remember thinking the Mexican was going to destroy his opponent in double quick time. After all, this was the same guy who beat and schooled the formidable Naseem Hamed only a few years earlier. The commentator also seemed to be writing off the Filipino's chances. Anyway, we all know what happened, and I guess I felt sorry for Barrera because I soon began following his career on the Internet. I desperately wanted the man to succeed. I'm not entirely sure why.

In any event, I've now watched practically every fight the man has ever contested in. At least those that were recorded on film. I find his stoic demeanour very honorable. The way he delivers his punches and combinations is very pleasing aesthetically, and it's easy to root for man who was as consistantly entertaining as Barrera was. His contests with Kennedy Mckinney and Erik Morales rank alongside the best fights that I've personally ever seen. It's inconceivable to me that the man could have critics and naysayers.

Sorry. I went off on a tangent. The first full fight I saw of Barrera would have been the Pacquiao fight on Eurosport. Sometime in 2003. However, the first fight I saw live on Television would have been his second round blowout of Mzonke Fana. I was well aware of his third encounter with Morales, but my parents wouldn't have let me stay up so late to watch it. I remember asking my dad how the fight went the moment I woke up. That was the first thing that I asked, that morning.

I'm of the belief that Marco wasn't mentally or physically prepared for Manny Pacquiao in 2003. Perhaps he felt the young man was moving up in weight and was way in over his head, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem prepared at all for a tough opponent. This isn't to say he would have won had he prepared himself for a Morales-type affair. I agree with what you have said. Pacquiao is a better fighter than Barrera. However, he was far more competitive in the rematch some years later. Marco knew what he had in front of him that time around. A debatable point, but one I firmly stand by.

I consider Barrera's prime to have been 1999-2003. If he was prime during the Manny Pacquiao fight, he no longer was after it.

 

Barreras a bum. Look what Pac did to him. The bum couldn't even be competitive in either fight and had to take sucker punches.

 

Is 2-1 against Morales and a legit argument can be made that he won all 3 fights against Morales.